Mozilla stops working on Firefox OS smartphones

Mozilla stops working on Firefox OS smartphones

Mozilla initially launched Firefox OS with goals of democratizing the smartphone: as an alternative of closed platforms and apps, you’d have an open, web-based framework that anybody might work with. Alas, nevertheless, that imaginative and prescient wasn’t meant to be. The group has announced that it’s going to “stop offering” Firefox OS telephones by carriers, successfully placing an finish to these telephones as an entire. It is nonetheless prepared to “experiment” with the software program on smart devices — they simply will not be the sort of gadgets that make cellphone calls. The group simply could not ship the “best user experience possible” on a handset, Mozilla says.

The transfer is gloomy, however not shocking. Whereas Firefox OS did handle to get some traction in a number of areas, notably Africa and South America, it was by no means particularly common. Its early value benefit shortly evaporated — it is easy to get a primary Android or Home windows cellphone for lower than $100. Furthermore, that web-centric Utopia… nicely, wasn’t. Though the platform did improve by leaps and bounds, it simply could not sustain with the competitors. It was mild on options and gradual, and most app makers simply weren’t taken with profiting from Firefox OS when an everyday cell web site was typically ok.

Because it stands, Mozilla has been scaling again a few of its less-than-essential tasks. It is already searching for another person to take control of its Thunderbird e mail app, for example. Prefer it or not, shedding Firefox OS on telephones could also be obligatory to assist Mozilla focus on browsers, ad blockers and different issues central to its mission.